13 Dec The (Good?) Old Days: Part XII – Declining Employee Loyalty

In the early to mid-1900s, the ideal job situation led you to stay with one employer pretty much for your whole career. This was true whether you were a union worker, attorney, or even company executive. The (sexist labeled) “IBM Men” of the 1940s-1960s were proud lifers at the then cutting edge technology company. They all wore matching skinny black ties and white shirts and were proud to slowly work their way up the organization until retirement and pension.

Nowadays, from the baby boomers to Gen X and the Millenials, there has been a dramatic trend towards what I call “restless job syndrome.” Different commentators talk about why each of these generations faced RJS. Baby boomers felt they weren’t appreciated. The Generation X folks, according to Careerbliss.com, felt their careers didn’t move fast enough. And much has been written about those Millenials currently under 30, many of whom want to be in companies doing socially important things and having fun at work.

On the legal side, courts have also made it tougher to enforce “noncompete” agreements, making it easier for people to jump to competitors than in the past. In California, in fact, noncompetes are completely illegal except in connection with selling a business. Change and turnover can be good at times, but not when the turnstile is the norm if you try to have continuity in dealing with customers, suppliers and back office. So overall, somewhere in the middle of old IBM and today would probably be ideal.